County’s unemployment rises in June after dropping for two months

ARENAC COUNTY — The Michigan Bureau of Labor Market Information’s (BLMI) June unemployment rate for Arenac County, not seasonally adjusted, increased by .6-percent to 17.3-percent after dropping for two consecutive months.

The BLMI’s statistics show that after the county’s unemployment rate surpassed 19-percent in March, it had dropped to 16.8-percent in April and 16.6-percent in May.

Other BLMI stats show that the total labor force in Arenac County grew to 8,183 people, 254 higher than in May. In June, out of the 8,813-person labor force, the total number of employed persons climbed to 6,679, 160 more than in June, but in that same time period, 94 more people were listed as unemployed.

In comparison to surrounding counties, Arenac County’s unemployment percentage is equal to Iosco County, .4-percent lower than Gladwin County and 3.4-percent higher than Ogemaw County, which has an unemployment rate of 13.9-percent.